


Of Earth and Rain

by thalassinus



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Small Town, Bad Father John Winchester, Car crash at the beginning, Castiel is quiet and keeps to himself, Florist Castiel, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Light Angst, Lots of flowers, Lots of sexual tension, M/M, Mechanic Dean Winchester, Mentions of abuse (canon), Minor Anxiety, More Tags to be added as I go, POV Alternating, Secret Admirer, also a house by the ocean, but i promise you'll be rewarded by the end, charlie is a badass who repairs motorcycles at the shop, lots of fluff i'm not even sorry, mentions of charlie/dorothy (online relationship), probably sexy ones, relatively slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 02:25:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15596181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thalassinus/pseuds/thalassinus
Summary: The world swirls in grayscale tones, the thrum of rain heavy against the ground, keeping time with the erratic beating of his pulse in his ears. He blinks once, twice. Blades of grass flick painful drops of water into his eyes and he closes them again, a dull roar accompanying the headache he feels beginning to set in. The roar grows louder until it is all he can hear. He screws his eyes tight against the sound, flashes of light dancing behind his eyelids.This is it. He thinks. After twenty-seven years, this is how I’m going to die.The roar quiets at once and he knows the end had come. They say heaven is peaceful, but all he hears is static.------After swerving off the road during a torrential downpour, Castiel Novak thinks his life is over. Everything hurts and he just wants to sleep. His wish is denied, however, when Dean Winchester finds him, and the world turns from grey to shades of green.This is a story of the courtship of Dean and the quiet florist who believes in the language of flowers.





	Of Earth and Rain

**Author's Note:**

> Blog for the fic is [here!!!](http://ofearthandrain.tumblr.com)  
> This is my first fic so be gentle!!  
> I usually hate reading fics where the p.o.v alternates between characters, but as I wrote, I realized this was the best way to write for this fic, so sorry in advance if you don't like that! The chapters will alternate between Cas and Dean respectively.  
> This was inspired by rainy days, fire escapes and too many florist Castiel feelings. Descriptions and reasons behind the floral arrangements and beta-ing done by the amazing Dominik. Hoping to update often. This is a repost from a fic I started four years ago and I want to bring it back and actually write it this time. Enjoy <3

__

_At night I dream that you and I are two plants_  
that grew together, roots entwined,  
and that you know the earth and the rain like my mouth,  
since we are made of earth and rain.  
-Pablo Neruda 

The world swirls in grayscale tones, the thrum of rain heavy against the ground, keeping time with the erratic beating of his pulse in his ears. He blinks once, twice. Blades of grass flick painful drops of water into his eyes and he closes them again, a dull roar accompanying the headache he feels beginning to set in. The roar grows louder until it is all he can hear. He screws his eyes tight against the sound, flashes of light dancing behind his eyelids.

 _This is it._ He thinks. _After twenty-seven years, this is how I’m going to die._

The roar quiets at once and he knows the end had come. They say heaven is peaceful, but all he hears is static.

\---

“Hey, man! You okay?” a panicked voice pierces through the fuzziness that fills Castiel’s head, bringing him back to the rain, the grass, and the smell of dirt. He feels something push gently against his shoulder, pain blossoming beneath the touch and he gasps, his eyes flying open. Everything that had once been grey is now swathed in green, and confusion pokes its way into his mind. He squints, willing himself to focus. Eyes, he realizes, eyes the colour of a meadow bathed in midsummer light, staring unblinkingly down at him. “I....” he opens his mouth to speak, but nothing beyond incomprehensible sound comes out as his memories rush back to him. He'd been driving home from a flower supplier just out of town when the rain had appeared out of nowhere, as it often does this close to the coast, and he hadn’t been prepared for it. He’d fumbled too quickly with the knob of his windshield wipers, causing the old things to get stuck. There had been so much rain and then suddenly, there were trees; row upon row of giants, blocking his way. He vaguely remembered crawling out of his car after he’d gone over the side of the road, the smoke billowing from his engine having frightened him.

Castiel shifts and places his hands at his sides as he tries to sit up, but one arm buckles under his weight. The man with the green eyes catches him quickly, steadying him in his arms and without thinking, Castiel leans against the strength he finds there.  
“Careful now, I think you might have dislocated your shoulder.” the voice from earlier whispers in a low timbre somewhere above Castiel’s head, and he finds himself oddly soothed by it, the sound mixing pleasantly with the thunder rumbling in the distance. Lifting his gaze to thank the stranger, he once again notices the colour of the man’s eyes, though this time he also sees the smattering of freckles across a slightly crooked nose and a kind--albeit worried--smile, rain falling around his head like a halo. _Like a guardian angel._ he thinks, before his eyes droop shut again and he falls into darkness.

\---

The roaring is back when Castiel comes to, and he glances around in a panic before realizing that the sound is just that of a car engine, that it had been all along. He feels the smooth and unfamiliar leather beneath his palms, and looks down to see his hands hidden underneath a ratty blue blanket. A small gust of warm air blows against his face and, once the haze of unconsciousness lifts itself from his mind, he glances up, a dozen questions threatening to fall from his mouth. They are silenced, however, when he sees the stranger sitting next to him in the driver's seat, watching him carefully.

"You uh...you good?" the man clears his throat, eyes flicking down to Castiel's shoulder. He belatedly realizes that the pain from earlier has subsided, now replaced by a dull ache, and nods.

"I hope you don't mind, I popped it back in when I got you to my car. Had to get you outta that rain, man. You're pretty damn lucky, if I hadn't come along when I did, you might've died out here or something."

 _I was sure I had._ Castiel thinks, but instead he only nods again.

The man beside him shifts uncomfortably for a minute, and Castiel wants to laugh bitterly. Even after nearly dying he can't keep up a conversation, his awkwardness around people an unfortunate constant.

"Actually you're lucky for more than one reason. I'm a mechanic, down at Singer's Auto Shop, damn good one too." the stranger says, running his hands through his sand-coloured hair, causing tiny drops of water to spatter against Castiel's cheek. "I reckon I can have your truck fixed up by the end of the week. Might have to order in a few parts, it's a pretty old model, but it shouldn't be too hard."

Castiel starts at the mention of his truck, having nearly forgotten what he'd done. Hesitantly, he looks out the window, squinting to see through the rain pelting against the glass. A whimper escapes him at the sight of the red pickup, front end almost completely wrapped around the base of a giant pine. It's only when he feels a hand lightly petting his knee that he realizes he's been shaking, tears silently streaming down his face. Embarrassed, he wipes at his cheeks with the edge of the blanket, muttering apologies.

"It's cool, man, no worries. I get it. Pretty crazy shit."

The two men sit in silence for awhile, Castiel's soft sniffling and the pounding of the rain on the roof being the only sounds.

"Dean."

"I'm sorry, what?" Castiel turns slightly to look at the other man, face still half hidden behind the fabric of the blanket.

"My name, it's Dean Winchester."

"Oh."

"I figure you might want to know the name of your saviour, you know, so you can thank me later in the newspaper or something."

Castiel smiles a little at that, his face no longer numb from crying. "Castiel. Castiel Novak."

"Castiel." When he hears his name repeated, Castiel can't help but widen his smile. He's so used to people questioning the strange sound of it, but Dean breathes the combination of letters with the ease of an old friend. "So, uh, should I take you to the E.R or something? Make sure you're all good?"

"Oh, I'm not sure that'll be necessary, thank you. If you wouldn't mind taking me into town though, I'd appreciate that."

Deans nods once, pulling his car onto the road and heads in the direction Castiel requested. "You sure?" he asks, fiddling with the dials on his radio before settling on a classic rock station.

Castiel tries to ignore how he notices the way Dean's brow furrows with concern, or the fact that his stomach seems to do somersaults when he realizes that this stranger is showing concern for him, someone he'd just met. "Yes, I'm sure. I'd rather avoid the loud noises and people fussing over me right now. I'll call my brother in the morning, he's a doctor." He doesn't specify that Gabriel is actually a paediatrician, but he figures it's good enough.

"Alright, fine by me. I'll take you to your place and then head back out here to tow your truck to the shop."

After an hour of driving, idle small talk and a few hummed bars of a Metallica song, Dean pulls up in front of Castiel's house; a quaint, one storey cottage on a cliff overlooking the ocean, and lets out a low whistle. "Nice place."

Castiel glances out the window at his home, trying to see it through Dean's eyes. He supposes it is nice, with a long white picket fence lining the property and shutters painted the colour of the water. His pride and joy however, is his garden, which lies behind the house and extends to the edge of the cliff. He almost invites Dean in to see it, but then remembers that it isn't exactly something socially acceptable to ask of someone you just met. "Yes, it does the trick."

After writing his number down on the back of an old gas receipt so that he can be notified of updates with his truck, Castiel shuffles carefully out of the car, mindful of his left shoulder, Dean's blanket still wrapped tightly around his chest.

"If you wait here, I can go inside and grab some money for the tow." he mumbles, turning around to peer in through the passenger window.

"Don't sweat it." Dean replies, his smile wide and easy. "Tows for major accidents like yours are free."

"That's kind, thank you."

"It was my idea actually, didn't think it was right to squeeze more money out of the injured, you know? Bobby went with it because it ended up getting him more business, believe it or not."

Castiel hums in acknowledgement, his exhaustion slowly beginning to seep in, causing his mouth to feel slow and lazy. Luckily, Dean doesn't seem to need much of a good-bye, and after reassuring that he'll have news on the repairs as soon as possible, a "you can keep the blanket", and a small wave of his fingers, he's gone.

Walking up the small path from the roadside to his door proves to be a bit more difficult than he'd anticipated, so by the time he fishes his keys out of his pocket (where Dean had suggested he keep them) and unlocks the door, Castiel is thankful for the quiet of his home. The dark-stained floorboards creak as he makes his way to the back of the house, knowing he should eat something before heading to the comfort of his bed.

After quickly reheating leftover lasagna and eating it while standing at the island in his kitchen, he heads to his room and undresses slowly before crawling into bed and nestling under his covers, the stress of his day finally taking hold of him.

As he lies in bed, eyes tracing patterns in the shadows that the moon leaves on his ceiling, Castiel can't stop thinking about the way the drops of rain clung to Dean's eyelashes or the fact that his car smelled like leather and something vaguely resembling lemongrass. He falls asleep that night clutching the blue blanket, dreaming in shades of green.


End file.
